To Be or Not To Be: Book One
by Marshmellowkiller101
Summary: A kittypet is just a word until you turn into something that you should fear. I was once a kittypet but then I stumbled upon the life of the warriors and now I am living among them. My name is Dawn and this is my story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Welcome to my newest story, To Be or Not To Be: Book One. I actually adopted this story idea from** _ **TheFanfictionMaster**_ **. They allowed me to create this into my own story and well here you have it. I really hope you enjoy this story and also check out** _ **TheFanfictionMaster**_ **when you get a moment.**

 **Summary:** **A kittypet is a just word until you turn into something. I was once a kittypet until I found this whole new land. Now I'm living in the world of the clans. My name is Dawn and this is my story.**

A light gray kit stared off into the shadowy, mysterious forest. Her curiosity had always had her wondering what was in there for her. As a light breeze ruffled her soft fur she wondered what it would be like to venture into the forest that she dreamt about every night. She wondered what adventures awaited her in that forest. What creatures would she meet in there? Would she prefer that life over her boring, easy life here? What scents and objects would she discover?

Her curiosity was so strong that she decided she wanted that life. She wanted to live life and see what was in that forest. She leapt from the fence that surrounded her owner's home and bounded toward the forest. The moon was her only light. She felt her body rush with excitement as she entered the dark, mysterious forest. She pelted deeper and deeper into the forest until she could no longer see the two-legs homes. She purred with satisfaction. Her old life was no more. She was now a wild cat that she had heard about from her neighbors. She was reminded of another cat she had heard about that also went out to join the life that she was now pursuing.

The cats name was Rusty. He had been a kit, like her, when he left. He was older though. She heard that he had found a group of wild cats and joined their 'clan'. Dawn thought that was a little far-fetched. Wild cats living this life as a group, sounded like a crazy dream. Although, Rusty had never returned…

Dawn shook her head to clear her thoughts. She padded on. She let her senses take her to another world. She felt so free and brave to be out in the forest at long last. She breathed in the fresh air and relinquished it for as long as she could.

All of a sudden, Dawn felt like she wasn't alone. She stopped and peered around, wondering who was there. She allowed the fur rise along her spine and she found her voice.

"W-Who's there?" Dawn asked. Suddenly, two cats jumped from the trees and landed in front of her. One was a stocky gray tabby tom. The other was a magnificent fiery tom. Dawn knew that she was in trouble now.

"Who are you and what are you doing on Thunderclan territory?" The fiery tom asked. His inquisitive green eyes gave a sense of security to Dawn for some reason and she answered honestly to the tom.

"I'm Dawn. And I didn't realize I'd wandered onto your territory," Dawn answered. The gray and ginger toms both shared a look before continuing.

"Are you a kittypet?" The ginger tom asked. _Kittypet?_ What in the world was a kittypet.

"I'm not sure. What is a kittypet?" Dawn asked, curiously. She suddenly felt no more fear but only curiosity. She wanted to learn as much as she could about these cats.

"A kittypet is a cat who lives with two-legs in twolegplace. They led a soft an overfed life and do not have the heart to make it in the forest," The gray tom answered her this time. His words were hurtful to her since she realized that she was a kittypet in their eyes. Or in his eyes. She could've sworn she saw the ginger tom flinch at his words.

"I… I guess I am a kittypet," Dawn said sadly. The gray tom narrowed his eyes at her and the ginger tom murmured something in his ear. The gray tom's eyes widened and he nodded slowly.

"Did you leave your owners?" The ginger tom stepped forward and asked Dawn. He sat down calmly in front of her and wrapped his tail around his paws.

"Yes. I didn't feel right where I was," Dawn answered honestly.

"Interesting. By the way, my name is Fireheart. This is Graystripe. We are a part of Thunderclan, one of the four clans that live in this forest," Fireheart explained to Dawn. Her eyes widened at this knew knowledge. Clans? They were real?

"The clans are real?" Dawn asked.

"Oh yes, they are very real. Graystripe and I are both warriors," Fireheart purred. Graystripe sat down next to him and nodded.

"Warriors? What are warriors?" Dawn asked. Excitement began bubbling in her once again. So much new information. But she felt as though she already knew the answer.

"Warriors are the cats that hunt and fight for the clan. They also train apprentices once in a while. And apprentices become warriors after their training. And when warriors become too old or ill to serve their clan properly anymore, they retire to the elders," Fireheart explained. Dawn nodded curiously.

"Tell me more," Dawn said excitedly. Fireheart and Graystripe both nodded to each other.

"Maybe you'll learn more if you joined Thunderclan yourself. You could come back with us and introduce you to our leader, Bluestar. She'll make the decision on whether you stay with us or not. But we must ask you a question," Fireheart proposed the possibility. Dawn nodded quickly.

"Are you sure you want to give up your life as a kittypet? If you join us you cannot go back at any costs. This life can prove to be too difficult for you, especially when Leaf-Bare comes and there is little food to go around. You will have to fight other clans sometimes and the battles can be long and hard. Are you willing to give up your life as a kittypet and join us?" Fireheart asked Dawn. His words seemed ominous and frightening, like joining them would be a mistake. But Dawn had made up her mind. She was going to join these wild cats.

"I am willing," Dawn said bravely. Fireheart and Graystripe stood up and beckoned her to follow them.

They led her deeper and deeper into the forest. They took her through twists and turns in the paths, bushes, and even leapt a few streams. The entire journey was quite nerve racking. Dawn couldn't believe how large the forest was. From her old home, the forest didn't look that large. But now that she was here, it proved to be quite the opposite. If she joined these wild cats, would she have to memorize the forest? These wild cats must be crazy from doing so.

A new scent hit the roof of Dawn's mouth. Cats. A lot of cats. The moon was now high in the sky when she entered a clearing. Fireheart sprinted of to a giant rock and disappeared. Graystripe led her to the rock and sat down at the base. Fireheart then appeared with a blue-gray she-cat behind him. She sat down in front of Dawn and the two other warriors. Dawn looked into her mysterious blue eyes and saw curiosity in them. She lifted her head to Fireheart.

"This is her? She is very small," The she-cat murmured. Dawn felt a burst of anger course through her body.

"Yes, but she is only a kit, Bluestar," Fireheart told her.

"Oh, but she is also a kittypet," Bluestar growled.

"But, Bluestar, the warrior code says that if we find a kit in our territory then it is our duty to protect and care for them," Fireheart pointed out. The warrior code? What was that?

Bluestar looked thoughtful for a moment. She then sighed and turned to Fireheart and Graystripe.

"Give me some time to think this over. I'll announce my decision tomorrow. Until then take her to the nursery. I'm sure Brightsky will be willing to look after her," Bluestar told them. Fireheart and Graystripe dipped their heads to her and Bluestar leaped up onto the rock and sat there, gazing at the stars.

Fireheart told Graystripe to head back to the den and he'll take care of Dawn. Graystripe nodded and padded off to a den. Fireheart led Dawn across the clearing. He pushed into the den and moments later reappeared with a little light gray cat. She looked almost exactly like Dawn. The only difference was that Dawn had a splash of ginger around her muzzle. The she-cat, Brightsky, looked at her in shock and disbelief. She padded toward her a sniffed her cautiously. Her eyes widened as she pulled back, shock and excitement in her eyes.

"D-Dawnkit?" She muttered. Dawn looked at her a moment longer before Bluestar jumped from her seat on the large rock. She padded over gracefully to the two she-cats.

"Brightsky? Do you know this kit?" Bluestar asked.

"A mother never forgets the smell of her kit," Brightsky purred. She instantly wrapped her tail around Dawn, squishing her into Brightsky's soft underbelly. Her kit? Does this mean…

Dawn pulled back and looked into the cats bright amber eyes. She tried to pull any memory of this cat back into her mind. She suddenly felt a memory surface of her snuggling into the soft belly of a light gray she-cat. She remembered another kit beside her, suckling her mother's milk. Another cat, a tortoiseshell tom, looked down at the two fondly and nuzzled both of them before leaving the den. Dawn couldn't believe it. This cat _was_ her mother. Dawn pressed against her once again and breathed in the suddenly very familiar scent.

"Dawnkit has returned," Bluestar purred.


	2. Chapter 2

When Dawn awoke the next day, she felt the burning stares of cats on her fur. She poked her head out from her mother's belly and stared at the kits gathered around her. She sat up and stared into the eyes of every kit, wondering what she was supposed to do. A white and gray tom padded forward and dipped his head to her.

"Hi! Are you the new kit every cat is talking about?" The tom asked. Dawn nodded softly and the kits confused stares turned to looks of excitement and astonishment.

"We have another playmate! Anyway, my name is Wolfkit and this is my sister, Hailkit," Wolfkit introduced himself and Hailkit. Hailkit shyly looked away and waved her tail slightly.

Wolfkit then padded over to a black and white tom and she-cat. The two kits were much larger than the other kits.

"This is Blackkit and this is Crowkit. They're the oldest in the nursery," Wolfkit gestured to the tom and then the she-cat. Dawn nodded and suddenly understood why they were so much larger than the others. "And then, there's Frostfur's litter, but they're still sleeping. The gray one is named Cinderkit and the golden brown tabby is Brackenkit,"

"And the cat beside you is Rosekit, your sister," Wolfkit pointed with his tail to a tortoiseshell kit. She yawned and stared at Dawn with a pair of curious green eyes. Dawn had a sister? This was going to take some getting used to.

Just then Brightsky awoke. She looked at Rosekit and pulled both her and Dawn closer to her belly.

"Rosekit, do you remember when your father and I told you that you had another sibling, but she was taken away by the two-legs? Well this is her. Fireheart and Graystripe found her last night and brought her to camp. Isn't this wonderful?" Brightsky asked hopefully. Rosekit stayed silent.

"So, this is my sister? I'm not an only kit anymore?" Rosekit finally asked. Brightsky nodded and Rosekit suddenly smiled a warm and welcoming smile and tackled her newly found sister.

Dawn and Rosekit played in the nursery with Wolfkit and Hailkit while Brightsky went and spoke with Bluestar. Dawn had been wondering all morning what Bluestar was going to decide. What is she didn't allow her to stay? Will she be forced to go back to the two-legs.

A loud call rang around the camp and stopped the playful fighting of the kits. Wolfkit bounced with excitement and exited the nursery with Hailkit and Rosekit right behind him. Dawn followed more slowly after them. One of the other queens padded over to Hailkit and Wolfkit and wrapped her tail around them gingerly.

"You know you're not allowed to attend clan meetings yet," The queen said to the impatient kits.

"Well, we've never been given the chance to 'catch out own prey' yet so, you never know. Maybe we are old enough," Wolfkit defended. The queen opened her mouth to retort but a large gray tom with a white muzzle wrapped his tail around her shoulders.

"Let them watch it. Besides Wolfkit does have a point," The older tom winked to his son and made himself more comfortable.

Brightsky padded over to her kits and brought them upfront. Bluestar beckoned with her tail for her to step forward and so she did. Dawn looked at her side and saw a tortoiseshell tom with a striking ginger tail to one side and a dark tabby with cold amber eyes to her other.

Bluestar lifted her head so the cats could hear her.

"Cats of Thunderclan. Many of you know of the return of one of our kits. Two warriors, Fireheart and Graystripe, found her last night while on a border patrol and brought her back to me. Brightsky recognized her as her daughter and informed me that she should be welcomed back into Thunderclan," Bluestar announced. When Bluestar began speaking of Brightsky the tortoiseshell stiffened and began staring at her intently, making her pelt feel much hotter.

Bluestar continued on with the announcement.

"I have thought about my decision for this young kit and have decided that she will be welcomed back. Although, life with the two-legs has softened her so I'd like every cat to help teach her what being in the clan is like again. She will now be known as Dawnkit until she receives her apprentice name. If any cats have any issue with this, I advise you to think back to the warrior code and if you continue to have problems, speak to me," Bluestar finished the announcement by sweeping her piercing blue stare across the cats and waving her tail. The cats dispersed and Brightsky and Rosekit raced forward to Dawnkit. Brightsky licked her warming and kept muttering 'I knew she'd let you stay.' Rosekit nuzzled her warmly and keep telling Dawnkit 'This is gonna be so much fun' or 'You're a true clan cat again'.

But when the tortoiseshell tom from the announcement padded forward, Brightsky padded toward him and brought him over. Dawnkit was afraid to look up and see cold hatred like the dark tabby showed her, but despite her fear she looked up.

She saw the complete opposite in his eyes. She saw warm love, happiness even astonishment in his eyes. Dawnkit stared into his deep amber pools and breathed in the slightly familiar scent. Brightsky looked at the two happily and broke the silence.

"Redtail, isn't it wonderful. We have our daughter back," Brightsky said warmly. Redtail nodded and suddenly plunged his head into Dawnkit's body. He breathed in while Dawnkit reached her head up to nuzzle the tom back. Redtail purred happily and licked her head numerous times before pulling back to stare into her eyes.

"You returned. I can't believe you really returned. I tried tracking you for days and came up with nothing when you disappeared. Now that you're back… I couldn't be happier," Redtail purred.

"Dawnkit, Redtail is the deputy of Thunderclan, which means he's second in command. If Bluestar is to die then he would become leader," Rosekit explained. Redtail beamed to his daughter and wrapped her up in his fluffy, ginger tail. Dawnkit was a bit confused so she began asking questions.

"What does a deputy do?" Dawnkit asked curiously.

"A deputy does all sorts of things. For starters, a deputy organizes all the patrols that go out of camp. And a deputy is the leader's go to cat. If there was a huge decision to be made then the deputy might help the leader decide. A deputy could even become leader temporarily if the leader was unable to lead the clan properly. Does that answer your question?" Redtail explained. It sounded like a big job, and the fact that her father held that position made her burst with pride. She nodded swiftly and Redtail licked her ears one last time before dashing off to Bluestar's den.

Brightsky turned to Dawnkit and began leading her kits away from the center of camp.

"Dawnkit, because of your father's position he may not be able to see you a lot. Do you understand?" Brightsky asked. Dawnkit nodded sadly. She really liked her father and the fact that he wouldn't be able to spend a lot of time with her really disappointed her.

Brightsky allowed them to play with the other kits for a while so Rosekit led Dawnkit over to Wolfkit and Hailkit. Blackkit and Crowkit were bugging a pale ginger she-cat and brown tabby tom to teach them battle moves. Wolfkit and Hailkit were playing with a ball of moss so Rosekit and Dawnkit joined them.

By Sunset the four kits were exhausted. They all lay down by the nursery and began teaching Dawnkit some of the things that a clan cat would do.

"So when we become apprentices we will have to hunt for the elders and train. It's kind of difficult at first from what I'm told, but it gets easier after you've been an apprentice for a while," Wolfkit explained. Dawnkit yawned and nodded as he began explained what a warrior does.

Suddenly, a glowing ginger cat appears in front of Dawnkit. She looks up in astonishment at the cat that seemed to be on fire. His forest green eyes searched hers for a moment before he began speaking.

"Dawnkit, may I speak with you?" The ginger warrior asked. When she heard the voice she recognized the magnificent tom as Fireheart. She nodded curiously as he took her to a shady and private spot in the camp. They had a perfect view of the sunset as it cascaded ever so slowly behind the trees.

"Bluestar asked me to teach you about the forest and life as a clan cat. I used to be a kittypet, like you, until Bluestar herself offered me my new life. I know you will love clan life because, trust me, it's much better than the soft life we led before," Fireheart said. His pelt still appeared to be glowing and Dawnkit understood why he was named Fireheart. He looked like a brand of fire in the direct rays of sunlight, which made Dawnkit wonder how he didn't have a mate yet.

"But because you were a kittypet before, the clan will not look at you as a true clan cat. So you will have to prove to them over and over again that you are worthy of the title. Do you understand?" Fireheart asked. His words had an eerie tone to them, which scared Dawnkit a bit.

"I think. So I will have to hunt better than any cat, or fight better?" Dawnkit asked. Fireheart nodded.

"Yes, you will need to be better than every cat in this camp. Then, maybe, they will accept you as one of them. It will take a while, and I suggest you don't screw up, like I did," Fireheart told her. Dawnkit nodded but confusion and curiosity washed over her like a wave and she stared up at fire lit warrior.

"Screw up? You screwed up? How?" Dawnkit asked with wide eyes.

"You are a very curious kit. Yes I did screw up. Our medicine cat, Yellowfang, was once a rouge. I found her and fought her and I ended up hunting for her when I was supposed to be hunting for the elders. A patrol found me feeding her and they brought Yellowfang and I back to camp. Many cats called me a traitor since Yellowfang was once the Shadowclan medicine cat, our rival. Eventually, Bluestar understood why I acted the way I did and she allowed her and I to stay, but on punishment. Eventually everything turned out for the better after our former medicine cat, Spottedleaf, was killed, leaving Bluestar to ask Yellowfang to be our medicine cat," Fireheart explained. Did Dawnkit hear a bit of sadness at the mention of Spottedleaf. Perhaps they were good friends.

"Oh. So you messed up but you proved them wrong when Yellowfang became an ally?" Dawnkit asked. Fireheart shrugged.

"Not really. They still see me as a traitor for thinking of a rouge before the clan. But I did show them I was worthy of being named a warrior since I found Frostfur's kits," Fireheart purred. Dawnkit purred along with him.

Before she knew it, it was moonhigh. Fireheart told Dawnkit he'd be speaking with her more later as he walked her to the nursery.

Fireheart poked his head into the den as Dawnkit scrambled into her mother's nest. Brightsky lifted her head drowsily and stared at ginger warrior for a moment.

"I apologize for keeping her out this late. Bluestar requested I begin teaching her about life in the clan," Fireheart said politely. Brightsky perked up and purred.

"Quiet alright, young Fireheart. I understand. You may take her all you want if it means she will understand life here better. And I never got the chance to thank you and Graystripe for finding her. It means so much to me," Brightsky purred happily. Fireheart dipped his head to both Brightsky and Dawnkit before exiting the den.

Dawnkit smiled as she thought about the kind ginger warrior. She wondered if he'd end up being her so called mentor when she was apprenticed. She hoped so, since she really liked him. His kindness meant a lot to her since a lot of cats gave her dirty looks as she passed by.

She rested her head on her sister's flank as she drifted off to sleep, the scent of her mother and sister in her nostrils. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep and comforting sleep.

 **OOOOOOkay. Here is chapter two. By the way should I make an alliances chapter so the stories not as confusing? I know it kinda is since I have to add in some OC's to make it work but… yeah. I hope y'all are enjoying. Also I'm trying to make the chapters long (Hopefully about 3,000 words per chapter) so it might take a little longer to get the chapters up. Anyway, this story had finally hit the road! Once again I hope y'all enjoy and please review so I know how I'm doing! Bye guys!**


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